What makes Simone Fontecchio different as a specialist? Erik Spoelstra weighs in

The Miami Heat and a shooting specialist has been linked together for quite some time now. Duncan Robinson and Max Strus the clearest example over the last few years, as Coach Erik Spoelstra has been consistent with playing his shooters.

After Miami traded away Robinson this off-season in a sign-and-trade, the Heat received Simone Fontecchio in return. And with the lack of offense and shooting on the roster at the moment with Tyler Herro sidelined to begin the season, he's needed even more than originally expected.

Simone Fontecchio on being traded to the Miami Heat this summer:

“I told my agent that this is one of the places I wanted to go for sure.”

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— Hot Hot Hoops (@hothothoops) September 29, 2025

The thing to note about shooting specialists is that they are not all created equal. Robinson, for example, became known for his elite work off dribble hand-offs next to Bam Adebayo, as he would curl tightly off a solid screen before firing shoulder to shoulder.

Strus, on the other hand, was more known for his activity to find an open shooting gap off an off-ball screen to fire right over the top with space.

So what is Simone Fontecchio's superpower?

"He's really good off the ball in a lot of different ways," Spoelstra said about his newest shooter after day two of training camp in Boca. "Great cutter. Both scrimmages he's had cuts and layups off good actions. He runs the floor well, very good three point shooter."

More than just the pure skill-set, a lot of times shooters just need clarity on a specific role. Spoelstra and the staff are preparing to do just that: "With him, the more he can have clarity in mind on what his role is and what the expectations are, (the better)."

The week of camp for the Heat is not only a period of time to drill down specifics for the season, but it's also a time to experiment. Spoelstra noted that he's not only using him as an off-ball player currently.

"He also did some things on the ball today," Spoelstra mentioned. "He was able to take some 1-on-1situations all the way to the rim and make some plays."

Erik Spoelstra is simultaneously trying to build off some of the things he's seen from his players that participated in EuroBasket. With larger roles cut out for Pelle Larsson, Nikola Jovic, and Fontecchio this off-season, he's using training camp as time to really put those reps to the test.